TAMPA, Fla. – The LSU football team put in a full day on Thursday as the Tigers spent the morning traveling to the bowl site from Baton Rouge, followed by a two-hour practice and then capped off the day with the Outback Bowl Welcome Dinner.

LSU’s day started early on Thursday as the Tigers departed Baton Rouge at 9 a.m. After a one-hour and 30-minute flight, LSU arrived in Tampa at 11:30 and they were on the practice field at the University of Tampa by 2 p.m.

The Tigers capped their day with a series of meetings followed by an all-you-can eat steak, chicken and ribs dinner courtesy of Outback Steakhouse. LSU and Iowa combined to eat nearly 5,000 pounds of food, including 750 pounds of steak, 750 pounds of chicken and 900 pounds of ribs. There were also 1,600 coconut shrimp and 160 bloomin’ onions served to the teams.

“It was a good first day,” LSU coach Les Miles said following dinner. “We had a really good practice today in some terrific weather followed by a great meal served by Outback Steakhouse.”

Miles said the Tampa weather and all that the city has to offer make it an attractive bowl destination for both his team and LSU fans.

“The weather here is great,” Miles said. “I would hope that our LSU fans show up and cheer on the Tigers. I can tell you that there’s plenty of sunshine, the stadium is as nice a venue as you’ll find during bowl season and Tampa is a great destination city. This is going to be a great game and I hope there’s a lot of purple and gold in the seats.”

Miles said that while Tampa is a great city, his team is here to win a football game. The Tigers, who are making their 14th straight bowl appearance, are 5-3 in bowl games under Miles.

“We are focused and we are here to play a game,” Miles said. “This is not just a vacation in Tampa for us. This team is motivated by the chance at winning a 10th game and to come away with a bowl championship.”

Friday’s schedule has the Tigers with a morning workout followed by a trip to Busch Gardens.